Waking Life
by Mooon River and Me
Summary: "There's an anchor that's pulling on my heart." When Percy mysteriously dissappears, what will happen to Annabeth in her suddenly empty life? My take on MoA, celebration before the book comes out tomorrow! Some swearing, no sexual content. T because I'm paranoid. Please R&R!


**Annabeth POV**

I woke up in a cold sweat. I had just had one of the worst dreams in my entire life. Percy was gone and he was somewhere foreign. I wasn't for sure where, but I knew that he didn't belong there. He was lost, confused, and he kept calling out for me, crying whenever he said my name, simply wandering around this foreign land and looking at every face to see if they were mine. I watched helplessly and tried to call out to comfort him, but he didn't seem to be able to hear me. He just kept wandering around, becoming more and more lost and confused.

Needless to say, I was quite happy to wake up next to the most beautiful boy.

I looked around and took in my bearings. I was in the Poseidon cabin sleeping on a lovely feather bed. Next to me was a boy with obsidian hair, tan skin, and, though you couldn't see it right now since he was sleeping, sea green eyes so beautiful they took my breath away. This was my boyfriend Percy Jackson.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Why the heck are you sleeping in your boyfriend's bed? You've only been dating a year, and you're already cuddling up to him in bed! That's down right scandalous, that is!

Nope. It's really not. You see, we don't do anything. We just…kind of got used to sleeping together. See, the first few months when we dated, we were still at camp so sleeping together was kind of out of the question. Then, after a while, we went back to New York where he would be attending school and I'd be helping to repair Olympus. I was staying with the Jackson's, but their apartment isn't really that big. There's no guest room. At first, it just started out as me sleeping on the couch. But after a while, I was staying up late in his room talking and I just sort of fell asleep. We woke up so freaked that Sally would kick my butt, but she just decided that, as long as nothing happened under her roof, and the door was open at all times, she thought it would be fine.

Nothing has ever happened, I swear.

So ever since then, we've just been doing that. It got to be a habit and, try as we might, neither of us could get much sleep when we were sleeping alone. So, at night, I'd go over there and go to sleep. Really, not that big of a deal.

When I woke up from my dream, I looked over at him. I'm a mega bed hog so, naturally, I had all the pillows and blankets on my side. As I looked over at him, I smiled. I didn't know how he put up with all my crap. I mean, I was whiny sometimes, I never gave him an easy time, I constantly was calling him names, I didn't think I was that attractive, and I took all the blankets. Even if all those other things I could put up with, the blanket thing had to be the straw that broke the camel's back! But I guess that's why I'm the blanket hog and he's him.

Percy was a right perfection. No matter what I did, he would always smile at me and enfold me in his arms. When I was upset beyond all reason, he would just hold me and let me let it out, because he knew that what I needed most was for him to be there to comfort me. He was never embarrassed to look a person in the eye and introduce me as Annabeth Chase, his girlfriend. When I hogged the blankets, he just got another one. I knew, after he did that, he would come back, kiss me on the head, and whisper goodnight in my ear, just because he thought I was asleep.

He was perfect.

Somehow, I'd managed to crawl away from his arms in my sleep and I was now on the exact opposite side of the bed. I scooted over to him and took the blankets with me. When I was right up close to him, I covered us both with the blankets and brushed back his hair. He didn't move, but he breathed more deeply, more contentedly. I kissed him softly on the nose and then snuggled into his chest to prepare to go to sleep for a while longer.

Unfortunately, that while longer never happened. It was a warm morning and the sea fountain was bubbling merrily. I found all this very distracting. Amazing how, last night, I was able to fall asleep much easier with not only these as distractions, but also my adorable, awake boyfriend to distract me. I sighed and reached around him to where my iPod was laying on our…um, _his_ nightstand. I snatched it up and started listening to some music. I just put it on my random playlist where some of my favorite songs are. Amazingly, one of my absolute favorites came on. It was "Stay Close, Don't Go" by Secondhand Serenade. Right as it was wrapping up, I felt his lips brush against my head.

There they were. As I looked up, I saw those beautiful sea green eyes, smiling at me. His hand immediately found its way to his favorite spot in my hair: the grey streak we both share from holding up the sky. I moved my hand up to touch his, exactly in the same spot where mine was. For a moment we just looked at each other. Then, he kissed me passionately, just like he did every morning.

Kissing Percy was an exceptional thing that I'd finally gotten used to. A long time ago, when we'd first started dating, I'd always felt like I'd never get used to it. I'd never get used to the way his lips perfectly fit against mine, or how he always managed to make my heart go well beyond its acceptable rate. But, I felt like I could finally compete now. I noticed how every time I'd pull apart, he'd have difficulty catching his breath, and how, if my hand moved to his chest, his heart would be going a mile a minute.

I pulled back and smiled at him.

"Good morning, Seaweed Brain," I said with a cheery smile. I gave him a quick peck and then jumped out of bed. He replied with a moan.

"Annabeth," he whined. "You'll be the death of me! Get back to bed. I'm not ready to start our morning yet."

"Oh, it's too late to go back to bed, Percy," I called from the bathroom. I poked my head out while I was brushing my hair. "Up, up! We have to get this cabin cleaned if we want to go down to breakfast at a reasonable time!"

When he wouldn't get out of bed, I walked over and snatched the covers off of him. He groaned and tried to pull them back on, but I waved them over him, making a breeze drift across him. He tried in vain to pull me back down to bed, but it was no use. I was too far away.

I made a _tsk tsk_ sound and went over to the iHome we had sitting on his desk. I snagged my iPod and plugged it into the iHome. It started blasting out "Rhythm of Love" and I sighed in contentedness. This was the perfect summer song. I started singing it loudly until he mumbled something like "alright, alright!" and hopped out of bed. He started moving like a slug, but then, quick as a whip, he grabbed me around my waist and began to sway to the music.

"I love you," he whispered into my ear. Now, I know what you're thinking: is this the first time he's said that? Nope. We've been dating for like a year, he said it on our six month. I felt it long before then, but I didn't want to sound like a moron, especially since my mother is the goddess of wisdom.

I turned around, but still kept his arms around me. I leaned up real close to him and then whispered, "I love you too," and then was promptly distracted for a good five minutes by him kissing me.

When we finally did break apart, I turned up the music and we began cleaning for the next fifteen minutes. We work pretty well together. I guess that's probably since we've been sleeping in the same room for a while. Once we were done, I had to go change, so I left the cabin and went to my own to get some clothes.

"Hey Annabeth," one of my cabin mates said. "Late night, or early morning?" They asked. Yeah, I still haven't exactly told them about my little…um…_arrangement. _I'm not sure if any of them have woken up in the middle of the night and noticed I'm gone, but if they did, no one said anything.

"Umm…early morning," I decided. This was the safest bet. If I said late night, I'd be admitting that I'd been out literally all night. That couldn't happen.

Before he could interrogate me further, I grabbed some of my favorite clothes and jumped in the shower, all the while belting out Rhythm of Love to my very confused cabin mates.

* * *

An hour later, I was skipping down the beach to where I could see Percy sitting there, skipping stones across the water. He took my breath away, simply by sitting there. He was wearing khaki shorts. You know those kind that are baggy, but not saggy? They have all the pockets on the side, and they're real loose, but they fit at the waist so they don't have that unattractive sag? Anyway, he was wearing those and my personal favorite look on a guy: a plaid, long sleeve, button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He was wearing a grey t shirt underneath and it wasn't buttoned all the way up. His charcoal hair was blowing in the slight breeze that was there.

I'll say it again, he was perfect.

I snuck up behind him, leaned down and kissed his neck.

"What are you thinking about, Seaweed Brain?" I asked while hovering over his shoulder. All of my curly blond hair fell down on the other side of my head, so he got a clear shot of my face. He looks lost in thought, the way he normally does when he looks at the sea, but for some reason, today it's almost…I don't know…_worrisome_ I guess. He heaves a heavy sigh: not a good thing.

"I have to go back to New York for a few days." After immediately noticing the hurt and shock on my face, he rushes to explain. "It's just…mom called today and said that she's having surgery this weekend. She said that 'by all means, she didn't want her son to leave camp and come nurture her', but c'mon Annabeth…she's my mom. I kind of have to. Now, I don't particularly…I mean, I was hoping…ah, hell, will you come with me? I don't really want to spend a few weeks without you…plus my mom loves to have you over." He sounds…_unsure_ as to if I'll go with him. For some reason, I find this downright hilarious. I mean it, what started out as a slight giggle as turned into a laugh so powerful that I fall off the log we're on and laugh on the sand, clutching my sides. He laughs for a second, not really getting the joke and I reach up and push him off the log too. What the hell, I'm having a blast, he should too. He acts mock offended and then climbs over on top of me. He kisses me gently and says "Can I assume that's a yes?"

Still chuckling, I touch his face and reply, "You are such a Seaweed Brain."

"Watch it, Wise Girl; you're going to be spending the next week with me in New York. Do you really want me as your enemy?"

He then picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. I resist the urge to kick and scream and settle with an exasperated sigh. He's done this before. When he finally puts me down at my cabin entrance and I scowl at him.

"Enemy?" I reply to his last question. "Why, Percy Jackson, you're no enemy! You're a downright villain and I'm merely the victim in a vicious world where it is acceptable to throw ones girlfriend over ones shoulder," I lean up real close to him, making sure he smells how good my shampoo and body gel are, and then I deny him of the kiss he was expecting. He whines at me.

"Annabeth, you know I hate it when you do that!"

I look him dead on and simply say:

"That's karma baby. Get used to it."

* * *

And with that I gently kiss him on the cheek and send him to go get packing while I do the same.

On the way to New York, I reflect again on how amazing my boyfriend is. Despite the fact that it is his car we're riding in, and he is the one driving, he let me put in my music. Life lesson: if a guy does this, he is worth holding onto.

So there we were, riding down the interstate at sixty miles an hour, when my second warning bells went off. The headache.

Now, normally, a headache wouldn't be a big deal to anyone. I mean, headaches are normal right? Not for me. I've never had a headache before, and I mean _never_. Never even a little pain in an area of my head!

Even if the headache isn't enough to weird me out, the visions I'm seeing are. Yes, you heard me correctly. I did say visions. It's weird, you know? It's not like a continuing movie playing in my head, but more of a flash of something.

The first is of Percy and some wolves. They're advancing on him, but for some reason I don't think they'll hurt him. The next is of him at a strange place, almost like a camp, with a pretty girl a few years younger than him. I immediately feel a pang of jealously. The next and, thank goodness, final one is the most disturbing.

It's of me. I'm in the Poseidon cabin but something's missing. Percy. I'm sitting in a huddle on the bed stroking a clay bead necklace, the ones we get at camp. It's not mine though, because I'm wearing mine. I'm slightly rocking back and forth as tears fall freely from my closed lids. My face contorts into anger and I let out a pent up scream. I reach beside the bed and grab the water bottle on the nightstand and chuck it into the little fountain. It makes a surprisingly big splash as I collapse on the bed and sob brokenly.

Suddenly, I'm being shaken awake. I didn't even realize I'd fainted.

"Annabeth! Are you okay?" Percy asks me concernedly. He's peering into my face, his eyes horrified.

"Percy, I'm fine," I manage to get out shakily. "How long was I out?"

"About ten minutes. You just kept moaning and saying my name. You…you started crying and screaming about a minute ago. Then I woke you up. Love, what happened?"

I sit there, stunned for a minute. I was having visions. I, Annabeth Chase, the sanest girl at Camp Half-Blood, was having visions! I was having visions, I was having visions, I was…no matter how much I said it to myself, it didn't seem to be real. I hadn't heard of a half-blood having visions since…ever! I'd never heard of that happening! Something must be wrong with me…but I have to deal with Percy. He can't know.

"Oh…nothing," is my genius response. Nothing?! He obviously knows that something must've happened. Before he can get anything out though, I invent wildly. "I….um…didn't eat lunch before we left," I say randomly. "I mean, you know how I get whenever I don't eat, so I just kind of…fainted from exhaustion," I finish lamely. I know that he doesn't buy it, but he offers to stop at the nearest restaurant and get me something if I want. Yet again, I'm thankful that Percy is mine. He knows that I flat out lied to him, the one I trust most, yet he's willing to look past that and try and cater to my obvious lie. I let him too. Shows you how crappy of a girlfriend I am right?

Half an hour later, we're sitting in a Red Lobster (naturally) as I pick at a salad I don't really want. I stick a piece of lettuce in my mouth and swallow with difficulty. Contrary to what I said earlier, I have no appetite after my little incident. I feel sick to my stomach and I just want to think about what this could mean. For some reason though, I don't want to tell Percy about it. I don't know why either.

"So…we going to talk about what that was?" Percy asks me. He's looking at me shrewdly as if trying to see through my lie. Unfortunately, I've had practice lying, and I've become a master with a poker face.

"I told you, dear, I was just sick from not eating. It was stupid and I'm sorry. We can leave though…I mean I filled up on quite a few biscuits."

Percy sighs and then leaves some money that should definitely cover it. Still, he waits until I'm by his side to put his arm around my waist, even though I've lied twice now. I feel my stomach churn with guilt even more.

Back in the car, Percy helps me into my seat and closes my door for me. Did you hear that? Oh, it was nothing, just the sound of my guilty soul going to Hell for being so awful to him. As we get back on the interstate, he grabs my hand and smiles over at me. I smile back and try and put this from my mind as much as I can. Luckily, we're about an hour outside of New York and we're starting to talk about things at camp, his mom, my parents, you know, normal mundane stuff. It's nice for a change to just sit and talk.

When we get to his apartment, he opens the door like he still comes home daily and walks into his mother's room. Apparently, surprise, surprise! She lied about the time of her surgery because she's already lying in bed with pain prescriptions next to her and Paul sitting with her.

"Mom!" Percy exclaims. "You said your surgery wasn't until next freaking week! Why did you lie?"

"Well, hun, I knew you'd come," she replies. "And you brought Annabeth, lovely. Nice to see you darling, how are you?" Sally was always like that. So loving and accepting, even when we first met. I looked upon her as my earthly mother, as I knew Percy saw my dad as his earthly father.

"I'm fine Sally; just here to make sure you are too! I'm going to go on ahead and do the dishes that are in the sink okay?" and with that I leave the room despite her protests. On my way out, I stop by Percy and touch his arm lightly. "Stay with your mom. I won't be long." I kiss him on the cheek and walk away to do the dishes.

While I do want to help Sally as much as I possibly can, my real reason for going so quickly is to be alone with my thoughts. So, here they are.

I had a vision. No, I'm sorry, I had _three_ visions. Pardon my French, but what the hell was going on?! Firstly, the only slightly visionesque figure in Greek culture is the Oracle, and that figure isn't a demigod first. So obviously, I'm not the next Oracle.

But what the crap am I?

I haven't done it much, but now I really need her. So, I pray to my mom.

_Hey there Athena, it's Annabeth. You know. Annabeth Chase. So, here's the deal…I'm having…visions. I know crazy right? Anyhow, I was just wondering if this wasn't one of your little plans of wisdom or something?_ Silence._ No? Okay then, my turn._

_I'm not really okay with this. If you could just tell me what it means? Where it's coming from? Why it's happening? _Again, silence. But this time, I'm fed up.

I stomp my foot on the tile floor and yell at her in my head. _Dammit mom! I've never asked you for anything! Nothing in my whole life! Now I'm getting these freaky ass visions of my boyfriend and an unstable me? What the crap is this? Some new game the gods are playing 'let's play with the demigods until they explode'? Well game over. Even if you don't know anything just tell me!_ I can hear a ringing in the, yes, silence. I cover my face with my soapy hands when I hear my name called.

"Annabeth."

I turn around and she's there. My mother. But something is different. Her face, always so confident, is scared. Shaken. Her eyes dart around the room as if she's looking for someone who is after her. I rush over to her, only to find that I can't come within a two foot radius of her.

"Mother, what's going on?" I ask, panicking.

"Annabeth, I haven't much time," she begins quickly. "I'm surprised I was even able to get here. Something's…wrong. I can't go into much detail but Olympus is a mess. We're fighting, Hera's missing or gone or something and we're not allowed to communicate with our children. But I'm here to warn you. I don't know why you're having these visions or who is giving them to you but don't ignore them. They mean something, listen to them, and try to avoid them. Protect him; I know you love him dearly. Don't let him out of your sight. If you do, go to Calif-" and with that my mothers voice fades out.

"Mother?!" Nothing. Damn, silence is way more annoying than I thought. "Mother!" I say with more imperativeness in my voice. Still nothing. I get the feeling that if I almost break down again, she won't be able to come either because of what she said. The gods aren't being allowed to speak with their children? Since when is that okay? After Percy saved the world, he made the gods promise they would bring their children into camp and claim them, but now there's no contact, none? Not even with those who have already been claimed? And, what the hell, mom wants me to protect my boyfriend, who she doesn't approve of?

Yep…something is most definitely wrong.

I stood there shaking for a moment. All this new information…I didn't know how I was going to fit it into my head without imploding. But I had to figure it out, because I heard footsteps.

"Knock knock," Percy says as he knocks on the door panel. I stand at the sink and continue to wash the dish I'm working on. He comes up behind me and snakes his arms around my waist. I close my eyes and allow myself to just lean into him. He can't exactly see my face or read my expression so I let the worry show plainly on my face. It's too exhausting to pretend like nothing is going on. My hand travels to where his is and I entwine our hands. I turn around in his arms and give him a kiss on the lips. Before I know it, I have to pull away because I'm trembling so badly. I'm going to…_lose_ him? Lose the only one I've loved, truly loved, the one I can't live without? Can I truly avoid the visions? I bury my face in his neck and collect myself. By the time I untangle myself from him, Paul is walking out the door, paying no attention to us.

"Sally's asleep. I really appreciate you both coming, but you may only need to stay for a day or two. Her surgery was a few days ago and she recovers faster than anyone I've ever heard of, and that includes that freaky chick from _Heroes_ who is completely indestructible," Paul informs us. I laugh lightly because who doesn't love a good _Heroes_ reference? Percy thanks Paul and then heads off to bed, where I follow him, wringing my hands nervously. I'm going to be alone with him. He'll either be taken from me, or I'll have to tell him. I'm not really okay with either option.

As I walk in, I close the door, take a deep breath, and say "Percy…" but before I can get anything else out, he embraces me. Hard. Percy hasn't hugged me this hard since he defeated Kronos, and now it feels like the air is rushing from my lungs willingly. I use the little circulation left in my hands and arms to pat him on the back. I have no idea what this is about, but it scares me, especially when he has tears in his eyes when he pulls back.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles. "I'm just…so glad you're here, with me. I…I don't have very many people in my life who are…well, in my life. Seeing my mom like that, broken and sick…it's scary as hell. I don't know what I'd do without you so just…thanks so much, Annabeth, just for being you."

I don't know what to say. How can I tell him now that, I don't know when, but soon he will be taken from my life? How can I subject him to that kind of pain and separation? Wordlessly, I move over to the bed and hold him while he falls asleep.

Around midnight, I hear a wolf call that makes my skin crawl. I look out the window into the pitch darkness of the night. Nothing. The bedside lamp is still on, obscuring my view completely from everything I can see. Silently, I reach over and turn it off.

It takes about two minutes for my eyes to adjust to the total darkness. When I've adjusted enough, I look back out the window and see…nothing. Puzzled, I turn away, still uneasy when something catches the corner of my eye.

I whip my head back to the window and see three massive wolves prowl out of the surrounding trees. My heart seems to stop. I can't catch my breath. My eyes are glued to the biggest one, with her massive yellow eyes. Quick as a whip, she turns and looks directly into my eyes. It's not like she's just taking in her surroundings, she _sees_ me. She's acknowledging my presence. She knows who I am. Her lip curls back in a snarl and I unconsciously pull Percy closer to me, protecting him. As she backs into the trees, she never takes her eyes off me. Before she disappears completely, she gives me a look that plainly says _Get out of my way._

I stare out the window all night and don't move until Percy starts to wake up.

* * *

Two days later, Percy and I are in his Jeep Wrangler headed back for camp. Our stay was rather pleasant: more relaxing than I expected. The wolves never reappeared nor did I have any more visions. It all seemed…ordinary. Which made me still slightly uneasy.

Percy and I were able to have some alone time, which was nice, seeing as we're both so busy at camp being the extraordinary counselors we are, and the only time we really get alone time is late at night and early in the morning. Which isn't the biggest chunk of time, as you can imagine.

Somehow, I managed to avoid the subject of the sudden unpleasantness in my life. We went and had a wonderful dinner both nights and watched movies. We went to see the new Spiderman movie, when I made him adorably jealous by going on and on about how in love I was with Andrew Garfield. Honestly, even though I love camp and we weren't here on pleasant terms, I was sad to go.

We should've stayed. This upcoming day will always haunt me.

I didn't listen to Athena. I was so relieved to be having a normal happy time that I completely ignored the visions I'd had and the wolves. On the way back I was too busy jamming out to Cher Lloyd and One Direction and laughing with my boyfriend to even realize that there were warning signals going off subconsciously in my mind.

We got back late. Not too late, but late enough that campers were in bed due to curfew. Councilors didn't have to go to bed until around midnight while campers had to adhere to a ten thirty curfew.

Still, I wasn't very tired. Instead of going back to my cabin to keep up the pretense of sleeping there, I just went straight to Percy's cabin, to hell with whoever saw!

When I got inside, the first thing I did was look in my drawer and pull out some comfy sweats from Victoria's Secret and throw on a t shirt to make myself more comfortable. I then went over to the desk Percy had put in there for me so I could work on my architecture designs without having to leave him. Percy came in the door and started unpacking bags. I put my iPod in the dock and started playing some music. Schuyler Fisk came on, which always has a relaxing sound. I made a few lines here and a few traces there until I felt Percy standing behind me.

"What do you think?" I asked lazily. I was getting sleepy and leaning into him felt great.

"They look great, babes. They always look great," he replied. I let out a big yawn and turned around to face him.

"They've got nothing on you," I say with a smile. He snakes his arms around my waist and leans his forehead into mine.

"I've got a question," he says. "But it requires you to close your eyes and concentrate."

"Okay," I say, sort of nervous, but in reality, way too tired to be remotely anxious.

"In…half a year, where do you see yourself?"

I shut my eyes and saw myself. But it wasn't just me. I was lazing around on the sand by the lake with Percy. I also saw us standing on a boat. I was everywhere. The pyramids, the mountains, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, concerts, fields, everywhere! But no matter where I was, Percy was there. So, I gave the most accurate answer I could.

"With you," I said softly.

"Two years?"

Again, I saw myself everywhere, even more grown and more experienced. He was still there.

"With you," I say beginning to smile.

"Five years?"

Still, he was there. "With you."

"Ten years?"

Only one thing was different about the image I had. There was a ring on my left hand and a bump on my stomach. I placed my hands around his neck and leaned in and said, "Only with you."

As his lips touched mine and his arms encircled me, I knew that nothing could be better than this. The images in my head could come true if I wanted them to be, and right now it seemed as if my world would shatter without him by my side.

Little did I know that I would soon figure out what would happen if he left me.

* * *

I woke up the next morning, perfectly content…and in an empty bed. Huh. This struck me as a little odd, considering Percy never got out of bed before me, but he probably had something to do or maybe a meeting with Chiron. I sat up and stretched before going to the bathroom.

When I got to the door, it was slightly cracked with the light on. He was probably getting out of the shower. I knocked softly and when there was no answer, I peeked my head in.

Everything was in its right place and perfectly organized but no Percy. For some reason, the emptiness and cleanliness was unsettling and scary. I did what I needed to in there fast and got out.

I stepped out into the brisk autumn morning and scanned the grounds. Nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Kids playing volleyball. Some random girl and guy making out near the lake. Capture the flag strategy planning. I walked around the area, saying hey to people as they walked past.

As I made my way to the main house, I paid no attention to the wolf tracks leading to the woods. All kinds of animals were roaming around camp. I had no reason to fear.

"Hey Chiron, did you have a meeting with Percy today?" I asked as I approached the front porch. Rachel was there too, so I said hey.

"No…actually, I haven't seen him all morning. Have you Rachel?" Chiron says.

"No not since last night when you guys got in. I saw you come in but I didn't say anything because you looked really tired…" Rachel says trailing off. I can tell by her look she knows I went into his cabin. I shoot her a grateful look for not saying anything only a girl would get. Still, my stomach churns at the still missing Percy.

"Okay…thanks anyway," I say, starting to seriously feel nauseous. I walk past the cabin again, looking down so I don't trip and this time, my heart stops.

The wolf tracks. Much too large and fresh to be anything from our woods. My vision blurs as I sink on my knees to the soft mushy ground beneath me. My hands grope at the ground and clasp onto something solid and not ground.

A necklace. Percy's camp necklace. I let out a pent up scream and then the rest goes black.

* * *

"Peeeerrrcyyyyyyyy…Peeeeeeercyyyyyyyy," I hear in the distance. I slowly squint my eyes open. I shut them again, not wanting to face what I think I'm going to have to. I open them fast, taking in as much as I can, and then close them again, letting the tears leak through my eyelids.

I'm in the Poseidon cabin…the empty Poseidon cabin. It feels cold and foreign, never like it was when Percy was here. It's dark with the occasional flash of a flashlight piercing through my closed eyelids. They're looking for Percy. I know deep in my heart, they won't find him. The muffled sobbing I hear is coming from…me. I'm seriously acting like this. Who knew a body could physically hurt this much? Who knew that emotional pain could turn into a deep aching physical pain? Who knew someone would seriously want to die rather than live this way?

Certainly not me.

I hear the door open slowly and hear footsteps coming in. The next thing I know is Rachel is there trying to talk to me into a calmness that I know I cannot achieve. Instead of slowing my tears, they come much faster now, mixing with screams and moans. Gods, I sound terrible.

Rachel can't do anything, so I just sit there and scream. I scream and scream and scream. When I say scream, I mean a horror film, bone chilling, throat numbing scream. I feel a tear hit my face and my numb brain comes to recognize the fact that Rachel is crying at my pain. My nails dig into my skin because my mind cannot hold all the pain I'm feeling; my body has to share some of it. I convulse and squirm on the bed, as if I'm possessed.

In a way, I am.

I open my eyes barely to see Rachel calling Chiron over my screams and several campers come in. Chiron quickly gallops behind them and shoos them away fast. A nurse of some sort comes in and gives me something to subdue me, and I welcome the emptiness of the darkness that soon engulfs me.

* * *

I wake up in a white room. It's a single room with only one bed, which I'm in, and a bedside table. There is a window right across from me. I feel like I'm in an insane asylum.

Slowly, as if in a trance, I walk to the window and look outside. Around our camp circle are all the campers sitting, intently listening to what Chiron is saying, who stands in the middle. I just look out for a moment, feeling like a ghost, and then my feet carry me slowly to the door.

I wander out, in only some Soffe shorts and a blue camisole, and slowly walk to the middle of their little circle. Campers stare, some even whisper to their neighbors about my state. I walk into the very middle where Chiron tries to get me back inside. I vehemently shove him away. I take a look around at the different faces. Almost all give me a pitying look, some look horrified, while others just look like they're about to burst into tears. I look down and put my fingers to my temple, trying to focus.

When I look up again, he's there. But he's not. He's a fleeting image of perfection, and then he's gone. He comes back in a zombiefied form, scaring me out of my wits. Then he's there again, right in front of me. I blink…and he vanishes. Unable to take it, my scream pierces the silence, and I collapse in the mud in convulsions before I finally black out.

* * *

I wake up for the second time, in the same room. Only one thing has changed. Rachel is there with me. I try to get up, but she pushes me back down, her eyes giving me that pitying glance.

"No, Annabeth, you can't get up. Chiron's orders. We, um…we haven't found him yet," she informs me. She doesn't need to fill me in on who "he" is.

"I know," are the first words that come out of my mouth in days. The words scratch my throat and make me feel sick. I clutch my head and just look down, very tired.

"But we will!" Rachel tries to say with hope. "We'll find him very soon, and then everyth-" she tries to finish but I cut her off.

"Cut it out with the damn hopefulness Rachel, we're not going to find him," I say rather bluntly and rudely. "I cannot take any more pitying glances or people telling me 'Oh it's going to be fine, just rest and when you wake up your world will be whole again.' It's not true and it's not how I want to be treated. Yeah, I'm broken. Yeah, all I want to do is sit here and scream and cry, but I can't take it anymore! I have to be out there, looking for him otherwise all I'm going to do is dwell on how much I hate life and how much I want to die and how none of this is ever going to get better! You have to let me go look for him Rachel," I plead with her, but she's already shaking her head, tears threatening to spill over her eyelids.

"I can't let you leave, Annabeth. I want to, because I get how much you're hurting but I can't openly defy Chiron," she says looking down, almost as if she's ashamed.

I let out an exasperated sigh and almost break down again. I feel myself blacking out, but before I can, I say the first words that come to mind, and also happen to be lyrics.

"Stay with me, or watch me bleed, I need you just to breathe."

And with that, my eyes roll back into my head and I black out.

* * *

When I wake up the next time, I know I'm at least a bit better. Or at least, that's what I tell myself. If I believe it, I can portray it. That's my goal. Show them that I'm "better" and surely they'll believe me. Sitting here is killing me.

Chiron walks into the room. He looks very solemn and at first I wonder if anything else could possibly have gone wrong.

"Rachel has made a prophecy," he starts out. "She's resting now which is why she isn't with you presently." He allows himself a small smile. "She's a good friend to you, Annabeth, and you've worried her greatly. But, her prophecy may be of some help yet. She tells of one who will come to us with, um, "one shoe" who will solve our problems. No, I have no idea what this means, nor do I know if he will have Percy with him or news of Percy. Just don't give up hope, Annabeth; we may still win this yet."

And with that Chiron heads to leave, but not before I can stop him.

"Chiron," I call. "I…I need to say something." He sits down, looking patient, but I know he's busy and needs to get back. I open my mouth to speak, but the words don't come. I try again, and still nothing. The third time, I manage.

"It's my fault," I say quietly, defeated.

"Annabeth, I know this is hard on us all but you should never, in any way think that-" I cut him off.

"No, it really was my fault. I knew this was going to happen. Chiron…I think I'm going crazy." My voice breaks, but still I continue. "On the way to see Percy's mom I…I'm not sure, but I think I went into some sort of fit where I had…I had…_visions._ Yeah, I know it's not weird but I can't describe it any other way. The first was of Percy with some large wolves. I saw the exact same ones on our trip, but they backed away when they saw I was with him. The next one was of him at a camp looking place…but it wasn't here. I don't know where he was. They all had on purple shirts and looked like half-bloods." I hastily make the decision not to recount the last vision to spare myself the humiliation. I grip Percy's necklace under my blankets. They don't know that I've taken it. I very well know they may need it but…it was a part of him. I need it to keep me strong and safe.

Chiron is quiet for a moment; head down, as if pondering what I've said. When he speaks, he sound mildly surprised.

"As of now, one of our older Satyr's has just begun a mission to recover three half-bloods. One of them may very well be the one that we are looking for to help us. I needn't tell you how important it is that we recover them safely. I will keep you updated, but at the moment, is there anything else that you can think to tell me?"

I think of the last vision, the necklace grasped in my hand, the fact that Percy and I have been secretly living together for months, and finally my conversation with Athena. Before I can even think, my mouth is saying, "No sir. There isn't anything."

I allowed myself to hope. This was my biggest mistake. Over the next few days, I thought of nothing bu

* * *

t the fact that I might see Percy in a matter of days. I even went as far as to think that there may be the chance that Percy will be amongst the three coming, giving myself false hope.

The day comes. Jason, that's his name. He comes with a child of Aphrodite and a child of Hephaestus. He can't seem to remember anything about his past life. No Percy, no wolves. I see them. I see the one shoe. I see that Percy isn't amongst them. My mouth goes dry with the unpleasant sensation that I just ran a hundred miles without a drop of water. I quietly excuse myself to go off to the Poseidon cabin, where I've been spending most of my time.

The first thing I do is go to the mini fridge that holds bottles of water. I take a big gulp and feel no better. I pace the cabin, the tears falling freely now.

"Why?" I whisper to myself, staring at the floor. "Why!" I scream into the still air. I sit on the bed, suddenly feeling dead tired. I clutch my knees to my chest and rock back and forth on the sheets. I put the water bottle down on the table and take the necklace out of my pocket. I stroke it lightly, whispering his name to myself.

Almost in one fluid motion, I scream my heart out, willing the gods to hear my pain and chuck the useless water bottle into the fountain that is bubbling too merrily. With a sudden snap of realization, I recognize this as being the third and final vision.

"Congratulations, Hera, you win," I say spitefully to the heavens. And with that, I slowly cry myself to sleep.

* * *

Days go by. The fierceness that burned for about a week has fizzled. Now, all I seem to do is mope about in the cabin wearing his necklace, and crying. I'm so pitifully weak; it makes me want to just kill myself to end this pain and humiliation. I don't break down as easily anymore, but all emotion and feeling is gone from my voice, the little I use it.

That Jason kid got assigned a quest. He took Piper and Leo with him, the two half-bloods that arrived with him. I have little hope. This is a very complex quest from the sound of it and Chiron forbade me to accompany them. It's probably for the best. I'd be too focused on Percy and not enough on the quest.

Then, one day, the unexpected and unbelievable happens. Jason comes back. So do Piper and Leo. They're all in one piece too. What's even more unexpected is the news they bring with them.

Jason is from the Roman camp. Apparently there is such a thing. My eyes glimmer with the faint trace of hope again, but I quickly shut it out. Jason continues to talk about how Percy is most likely there, but also how there is little chance of surviving the wolves unless you are strong and brave. I know Percy is both of these, but how much without his memory, I cannot say.

On the bright side (yeah right…there is no bright side) Leo is very good with tools, being a son of Hephaestus, and is going to be able to make a flying boat to take us to this Roman camp.

The little hope I've shut out begins to kindle again.

* * *

Within three months, the boat is done. Long and hard hours have been spent working on it. I tried to help with a newly reinforced fire beginning inside me, but I'm really more of a hindrance than a help, so I settled with the promise that I would be on the ship.

The day has come. It's early in the morning, but I barely feel tired. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. The thing I fear most is that he won't remember me. I do everything I can to make sure he does. I've put on his necklace along with mine, slipped on his blue sweatshirt that I love to wear, and put on the ring he gave me for our anniversary.

I cannot calm my nerves.

Before I'm really ready, the ship is taking off. We fly high over the land, ocean, and all things in between.

"Nervous?" says a voice from behind me. Piper. Over the months, we've become good friends. She gets more than anyone what I'm going through and is slowly becoming as good of a friend as Thalia was.

"Yeah," I admit, looking over the edge. "Percy would've loved this," I say suddenly. "The view. Even though he's kind of an enemy of Zeus, he would've loved to see the beautiful seas spread out before him like this. It's just…what if he forgets me? What if I wasn't important enough to stick in his memory? I just…I couldn't bear to lose him again in an entirely different way."

"Annabeth…look at me," Piper says grabbing my shoulders and turning me to look at her. "Percy. Loves. You. I don't know him but I know that you mean the world to him. From what you've told me…there's no erasing that. Believe me; everything will be fine in a few short minutes. We're landing."

And that we were. The boat was descending. I could see there was a ring of people around a space wide enough for us to land. My heart jumped to my throat. I scanned the crowd, trying to spot that familiar obsidian hair. I can't take it anymore so I back away from the rail and close my eyes willing the boat to land.

Finally, we hit solid ground. I stay on the boat while I hear people rushing around me going to greet the new half-bloods. Before I even move, I feel someone come up to me, and Piper whispers in my ear, "Run to him."

Slowly, I open my eyes. There is a rush of commotion about me. I get up, as if in a trance and my eyes sweep the crowd. Nope, nope, nope, no…wait. My eyes move back to that spot.

There he is. Rooted to the spot, he stares transfixed at me, his green eyes boring into mine. I try not to cry. That doesn't seem to be a look of recognition.

Slowly, so slowly it feels like it takes year, I approach him. Eventually, I'm about three feet from him. I swallow down the pain I'm feeling and begin to speak, as Chiron told us we should.

"Hello, my name is Annabeth and we're from Camp-" that's all I get out before his lips are suddenly on mine. It feels like that water I had back in his cabin is finally kicking in and I feel refreshed and cleansed all at once. I half laugh half cry as I embrace him. His hands are all over my face as mine are on his, memorizing every detail that I'd missed. Finally, his hands move to my necklace and find his. With a sly smile, he looks at me and says,

"Ah, thanks for keeping this for me, babe. I thought I'd lost it."

**A/N:** I worked freaking FOREVER on this! I really really hope you like it; I tried super hard to get it out before the real thing came out because this is my take on it. Let me know what you thought pretty please! Reviews are my favorite so please make my day; it's been a rough one anyway! Love you all for reading! Xxx


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